North of Tyne Primary Care Trust

KILLINGWORTH HEALTH CENTRE

 
 Dr Mark R Preston MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

*Dr Angela H Austin MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

*Dr Jane E Chalmers MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

* Female

Latest News           

Please use the link to our latest news letter. Practice Newsletter 8.pub

Summary Care Record

The purpose of the summary care record is to ensure that anyone treating you has basic but important information about you, especially when care is unplanned, urgent or during evenings and weekends.

a roll out programme to existing patients begins in March/April 2010 and all patients will be sent an information pack with a leaflet explaining the Summary Care Record. A PDF copy of the leaflet is accessible below.

SCR Patient Leaflet.pdf

Patients can get additional information from

www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk

or

by calling the NHS Care Records Service information line on 0845 603 8510

For new patients our new patient registration process will ask if you wish to have a Summary Care Record and your preference will be recorded on your personal record. Parents of children up to the age of 18 years will be required to make this decision on their behalf.

additional information on confidentiality of NHS records can be found below.

NHS Care Record Guarantee.pdf

Confidentiality of Patient Records.pdf

Become An Organ Donor

Right now more than 10,000 people in the UK need an organ transplant that could save or dramatically improve their lives.  But each year around 1,000 people die while waiting for a transplant. Help us to give these people the chance for a new life.

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register and give the gift of life, click here or call 0300 123 23 23.

https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/Consent.do?campaign=1863   

Automated Patient Arrival System

The practice has recently installed a new system for checking in patients, which is situated just to the left of the front desk in the waiting room; it looks like a wall mounted computer screen. When a patient has an appointment all they need do is follow the instructions on the 'touch screen pad'. It's very easy to operate and because the screen is quite large, will be easy for most patients to use. The screen will ask whether you are male or female, your birthday and your month of birth. The screen will then confirm your appointment time and whether your clinic is running late. After that you can take a seat knowing how long it will be before you are seen, and you do not need to wait if there is a queue at the desk. Of course you can still check in as normal if preferred.

Out of Hours Community Drop in Clinic

The Out of Hours Drop in clinic is a service available to all patients who are unable to access a nurse during practice hours.

Open Monday - Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)   6.00 pm - 10.00pm

Location: Fracture clinic at North Tyneside General Hospital (Next to A & E)

Appointment system: Patients do not need an appointment to attend the clinics for most routine treatments and are seen on a 'first come, first served basis'.

Patients will require an appointment for ear irrigation and Zoladex injections.

Nursing Services Offered

The drop in clinic is staffed by community nurses from the Out of Hours District Nursing Service. The clinic offers the following services:

        Tel : 0191 220 5190).

Please ensure that your journey is not wasted by bringing your own supply of dressings or prescribed drugs for injection.

Extended Opening

The Practice is open from 8.30 am until 8.30 pm each Monday evening, except where a Statutory Holiday falls on a Monday. On those days the Monday evening surgery will be held on an alternative evening. 

Please note that this is not an emergency service. It is purely for those who work or are unable to come to the surgery during the day.

Text Messaging Service to our Patients

As many of our patients no longer use their landlines to receive incoming calls, the practice now uses text messaging as a way of contacting patients for anything that may be urgent. We use a SMS service to contact patients, this is a combination of emailing and text messaging using @nhs.net. We send an email and the patient will receive it via a text on your mobile phone. This may be to notify the patient that we have cancelled or rearranged an appointment or just to let the patient know that they need to speak to the doctor. The patient will then be asked to contact the surgery in the normal way, either in person or by phone. Because of confidentiality issues, we will never give out results in this way and you will not be able to reply to the message via text.

Of course we need to have an up to date mobile phone number and many patients forget to supply this, so for the foreseeable future we will be actively seeking to get as many up to date mobile numbers as possible.

Fasting Bloods

We are currently running a trial fasting bloods service. Health Care Assistant will be able to take 'fasting bloods' on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 8.30 am - 9.00 am. Anyone who needs these bloods done can make an appointment.

Ear Syringing Clinic

Please note we have a new Ear Clinic on Friday afternoons from 3.30pm-4.00pm. This is extra to the slots we normally have during the week. 

Early Morning Nurse Appointments

We are now able to offer early morning appointments from 8.30 am on Mondays and Wednesdays with Gill, one of our Practices Nurses. We hope this makes it easier for those who wish to see the nurse before they start work.

Repeat Prescriptions Online

You can now order your repeat prescription online. As part of our strict security protocol, to be able to do this you must first come to the practice in person  where you will be issued with an Access ID and Pin Number. Remember, no one else can do this for you, you must come yourself. If you have recently registered with us you must also bring some identification, a driving licence or passport will do together with a recent utility bill so that we can confirm your identity and home address.

You can then register with  EMIS Access online using you 'Access ID' and 'PIN number'. Once you have completed these details, you will be able to order your prescriptions at any time - just click on the link.

Note: The contraceptive pill and HRT are not available via emis access.

Pneumococcal Immunisation

The practice is currently offering pneumococcal immunisation to registered patients over the age of 65 years of age, and to all patients who suffer chronic illness, such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, renal failure, or anyone who is immunosuppressed (having chemotherapy). If you think you should be immunised, please contact the surgery.

Pneumococcal vaccinations will protect older people against the more serious complications associated with invasive pneumococcal infections in particular to pneumonia, which can cause serious complications. Pneumococcal immunisation will offer protection for life in most cases.

Please telephone for an appointment at the surgery on Tel: 0191 216 0061

MMR Vaccination

Here are some facts about measles, mumps, rubella and the MMR vaccine.

We keep hearing that the MMR vaccine is linked with autism. Is this true?

No. We will give you the facts.

So why has MMR been linked with autism?

The speculation over a link between the MMR vaccine and autism started in 1998 when some scientists published a paper on 12 autistic children who also had bowel problems. Although the scientists stated dearly that there was no proven link between autism and the MMR vaccine, the resulting publicity gave the impression that there was a link.

The number of children being diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders (conditions related to autism) has been increasing for many years. Some people took this as an indication that the increase was caused by the MMR vaccine.

Many parents of autistic children know that there is something different about their child very early on. But some babies may appear to develop signs of autism when they are older. This type of autism, called regressive autism, was known about long before the MMR vaccine was introduced. Symptoms of regressive autism often start around the same time that the first dose of the MMR vaccine is given. So it's understandable that parents worry about there being a connection between the two events.

How can we tell if there is a link?

If the MMR vaccine and autism were linked, regressive autism would be far more common in vaccinated children than in unvaccinated ones. But this is not the case.

If the MMR vaccine caused autism, there would have been a sudden increase in cases when the vaccine was introduced into Britain. This didn't happen. You would also expect to see a fall in cases of autism if the MMR vaccine was withdrawn. In Japan, that didn't happen when they stopped using the MMR vaccine and used a single measles and a single rubella vaccine instead.

Extensive research into the possibility of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, involving hundreds of thousands of children, has been carried out in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the USA and the UK. No link has been found.

Experts from around the world, including the World Health Organization, agree that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Was there a sudden increase in autism after the MMR vaccine was introduced?

No. There has been no sudden increase in autism in any country after the MMR vaccine was introduced. This wouldn't be the case if the MMR vaccine caused autism.

So what might be the real cause of autism?

Autistic spectrum disorders probably result from a range of causes. The strongest evidence to date points to there being a genetic link.

The chances of a child developing autism are no different if they have the combined MMR vaccine, single measles, single mumps and single rubella vaccines, or no vaccines at all.

All the latest research shows that there is no evidence to say that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Work continues to find out what the real causes are.

Why can't my child have single vaccines?

All the evidence shows that the MMR vaccine is the safest way to protect your child against measles, mumps and rubella.

In the time gaps between the three vaccines, children would not be protected against the diseases they had not yet been immunised against. So there would be an increase in measles, mumps and rubella leading to illness and possible death. Also, unprotected children can pass on these diseases to other at risk children and pregnant women.

Choice is important, but the NHS cannot offer a choice of single vaccines that would put children at risk.

Not everybody will be able to finish the course of six injections (initial dose and second dose) and so some children will be left unprotected.

he World Health Organization advises against using separate vaccines because they would leave children at risk for no benefit. No other country in the world recommends that children should be immunised against measles, mumps and rubella in three separate vaccines, twice over

But what about overloading my child's immune system with three viruses all at once?

From birth, babies' immune systems protect them from the germs that surround them. Without this protection, babies would not be able to cope with the tens of thousands of bacteria and viruses that cover their skin, nose, throat and intestines. This protection carries on throughout the child's life.

A baby could respond safely and effectively to around 10,000 vaccines at any one time. So the baby's immune system can and does easily cope with the MMR vaccine.

MEASLES

What is measles?

Measles is caused by a very infectious virus. Nearly everyone who catches it will have a high fever, a rash and be unwell. Children have to spend about five days in bed and may be off school for ten days. Adults are likely to be ill for longer. It is not possible to tell who will be seriously affected by measles. The complications of measles affect one in every 15 children. Complications include chest infections, fits, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and brain damage. In very serious cases, measles kills.

Keep your child cool by:

If your doctor's surgery is closed and you can't contact your doctor, go to your nearest hospital's emergency department.

Are there reasons why my child should not be immunised?

There are very few children who cannot be immunised. If you missed the appointment for your child's MMR vaccination, you can get another appointment at any time.

Allergies and other problems

Even a child with an anaphylactic (rashes on face and body, a swollen mouth and throat, problems with breathing and shock) reaction to egg can have the MMR vaccine. In this situation, tell your doctor or practice nurse so they can make special arrangements to give your child the vaccine.

If your child had an anaphylactic reaction after a previous dose of MMR vaccine or if your child's immune system is suppressed (because they are undergoing treatment for a serious condition such as a transplant or cancer), the doctor or practice nurse should get advice from a child health specialist.

Where can I get more information?

You can also speak to your doctor, health visitor, practice nurse or district nurse, or phone NHS Direct on 0845 46 47

Send mail to Killingworth Health Centre with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: July, 2010